Pramod Muthalik episode ‘a mistake’: Arun Jaitley

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Monday admitted that it was a ‘mistake’ to have taken Pramod Muthalik, who led an attack on women in a Karnataka pub in 2009, into the party.

“What happened in Karnataka on Sunday was highly avoidable. The party, its workers and sympathizers must all remember that the things are going our way. We cannot afford to commit any mistakes,” said Jaitley.

“Since the BJP and Narendra Modi occupy the centre stage, our mistake will be disproportionately highlighted,” he added.

Jaitley, who is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, further said the mistake was ‘immediately corrected’.

The comment came after the BJP took a U-turn on Muthalik and showed him the exit door hours after he was inducted into the party fold.

Muthalik, who heads a group called Sri Ram Sene, had justified the 2009 attack on women saying it was against ‘Indian culture’ for women to drink liquor.